Africa in a changing global environment

The Africa in a changing global environment report (“Report”) considers Africa’s position in the current global economic environment and measures how Africa ranks, by individual country, by region and as a continent, with competing Developing and Transition Economies with regards to the following areas:

This Report gives insights into what direction the world economy is expected to take in the context of the current trust crisis by Developed and other economies as identified in the Edelman Trust Barometer, 2017 resulting in the recent increase in populist views by the general populations of the world. It cites the risks to the world economy due to the resultant inward looking policies and protectionist measures as identified in the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report, 2017. It also highlights the potential and expected global economic impact of the so called fourth industrial revolution as detailed in The World Bank Group’s Global Economic Prospects Report, 2017and The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, 2016 as well as The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report, 2016 – 2017.

The fourth industrial revolution is building on the digital revolution, or third industrial revolution, that has been occurring since the 1950’s. According to The World Economic Forum, the fourth industrial revolution is characterised by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres with developments in the fields of artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, nanotechnology, 2D printing and genetics and biotechnology.

The Report documents how Africa, as a continent, regionally and by individual country, compares to its main Developing and Transition Economy competitors as an investment prospect for the limited available foreign direct investment (“FDI”). The Report further suggests the areas over which individual African countries have control and can work towards improving in order to increase their attractiveness as an FDI inflows destination and their competitiveness in order to best position themselves to cope with and take advantage of the economic benefits offered by the fourth industrial revolution.

About Robbie Cheadle

Robbie is an Associate Director at KPMG and a JSE accredited approved executive, responsible for KPMG's sponsor service offering and providing advice to JSE listed entities. She also provides guidance on compliance with the corporate governance requirements of King III and the Companies Act as it applies to Fundamental Transactions and the Takeover Regulations. Robbie lead the preparation and launch of KPMG's 2014 "Listing in Africa" publication, as well as the “Listing in Africa – Extractive Industries” publication which was launched at the Ministerial Symposium at the 2015 Mining Indaba, which set out the considerations for listing, listing criteria, processes, documentation requirements and continuing obligations relating to the Botswana Stock Exchange, Ghana Stock Exchange, JSE Limited, Stock Exchange of Mauritius, Namibian Stock Exchange, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Nairobi Stock Exchange, Zambian Stock Exchange and the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. Following the success of the “Listing in Africa” publications, a second series “Insights into African Capital Markets” is in progress, with the African Debt Market publication being launched in September 2015 and the What Influences Foreign Direct Investment into Africa publication to be launched during February 2016. Robbie also assisted with the proposed amendments to Section 13: Property Entities of the JSE Listings Requirements and the drafting of the related IRBA Guide for Registered Auditors: Reporting Responsibilities of the Reporting Accountant Relating to Property Entities in terms of the JSE Listings Requirements.